Dear Audrey,
Today you turn one year old. It's amazing to look back on the past twelve months and see how much your life has changed. And our lives have changed too. For the better. You have taught me patience, grace, mercy, and the art of flexibility. You unveiled a reserve of love so deep and wide that I did not know I had in me. You have gone from a swaddled babe lying still in my arms to a force of nature. You are so busy and happy and so much fun to be around. I have absolutely
loved this past year with you and have felt so blessed to have been able to stay at home with you, guiding one another each step of the way.
Everyone who knows you thinks you are the sweetest and happiest little peanut around. You are so social. You walk up to complete strangers and not yet well-known friends and want to give hugs and be picked up. You don't cry at strangeness; instead, you stare. Ever the curious one. You love to laugh and play. One of your favorite games right now is to be "chased". You will run one way and turn on a dime to head the opposite direction when you are "caught". Then you laugh and we laugh and we just look at you and say "how did we get so lucky?". You are so smart. You learned how to stack the rings on the cone - all by yourself. I just saw you do it one day and you kept on doing it, over and over and over. I ask if you want "nummies" and you smack your lips. When you see food, you exclaim "oh" in a happy little voice. You are such a good little eater. Your preferences have blossomed and it's easy to say you have "favorites" now. You reach out for me when you want to be held and you give hugs. You climb. Up boxes and chairs and couches and crates. Daddy taught you how to go down the stairs {backwards} and you zip, zip down them like a pro. You learned how to walk and talk before your first birthday. You have seemed so independent from day one. You get that from your momma.
You give actual kisses and you blow kisses, you wave hello and good-bye, you say "bye-bye", "puppy" and "woof", "Nana" and "Bubba" and "momma" and we think when you say "baba" you are talking about your daddy. You also say "baby" whenever you see a picture of a baby (especially pictures of yourself). You think all animals say "woof" - you met a cat for the first time this past month and right away you puffed your checks, puckered your lips and said "woof, woof". We're working on it. ;-) You have moved through transitions so easily, I wonder when that will end. You go down for naps and bed without a peep (usually) and sleep all through the night. Twelve hours is the norm, but sometimes it's even thirteen! You wake up chattering happily and are content for a while before we come in to get you. Bedtime is still between 7-7:30 pm. You are down to one nap a day, but we're still working on the timing of it. Too early and you are exhausted by dinner, but if we wait too long you have mini meltdowns. We'll work it out though, we always do. You don't like to sit still long enough to read a whole lot. There is just so much to see and do. My busy little bee. But we do read a few books at bedtime as part of our routine. You still like baths, though you are not crazy about getting your hair washed. You have very specific situations where you will let me cuddle with you, otherwise that independent nature shines through (payback for me I suppose!). You completely light up when your daddy comes home from work and most days you squeal a happy little greeting when he walks through the door. It's adorable. You have TWO teeth now. One lower and one upper. That, too, is adorable. You smile real big and all you see is the lower tooth sticking out (the upper one is
just coming through).
I love you my sweet girl. My precious gift. I dreamed my whole life of being a mom, but never in my wildest dreams did I dream up you. You are so much better. My hope is that as we travel through this life together I will be a woman of integrity for you to look up to and learn from. I have already learned much from you and know there is still more to come. I embrace it, and you, with open arms.
I love you, Audrey.
Love,
Momma
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| One of my favorite "first" pictures of Audrey |
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| About 1 week old |
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| 6 weeks |
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| 2 months |
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| 3 months |
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| 4 months |
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| 5 months |
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| 6 months |
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| 7 months |
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| 8 months |
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| 9 months |
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10 months
11 months
First Birthday (cupcake face!) |
4 comments:
Happy birthday, Audrey! I remember being at work around this time a year ago and checking my office IM thing every morning to see if Doug came into work or not because if he wasn't there, then maybe that meant you had had the baby!
Audrey's pictures throughout the year are so sweet. I love her sweet expression in the 9th month picture because she looks like she's posing. It looks like she enjoyed her cupcake!
Love you, Missy and glad we are friends!
Wow! This made me cry. Audrey is so lucky to have you as her mom!
Happy birthday, Audrey! Sorry we missed your playdate birthday! We look forward to maybe a Children's Museum get-together on the horizon? Maya's sleep schedule is a little off-kilter as of late. She's transitioning to the one-nap-a-day and the night before, she was up until one! Tonight, she's in bed by 10:30, which used to be early for her. Who knows. Sending you lots of love and hugs to you and your ONE YEAR OLD! (Crazy!)
Sarah - thank you for your sweet words. I, too, am blessed to call you friend. Hope all is well with you and your little family. :)
Janaya - you are too kind. Thank you for your belief in me as a mom. I don't need convincing that you are a pretty amazing one yourself.
Molly - sorry you two couldn't make it, but totally understandable! Looking forward to an excursion to the Children's Museum soon!
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